How to Make "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" a Memorable Success

If you're going to be one of the nearly 40 million Americans celebrating "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" each year, it's important to start planning early. Smart preparation can ensure that everyone — you, your kids and your colleagues — can get the most out of this memorable experience. This includes everything from making sure your schedule can accommodate a visit to preparing exciting activities for your visitors.

With that in mind, let's review some tips for planning a successful take your kids to work day.

Get a jump on your preparations

it's a good idea to begin planning for Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day a few days or even weeks beforehand.

To start, you'll need to make sure your schedule is clear enough to accommodate kids, so work on freeing up space ahead of time. If it falls during an exceptionally busy time of the year for your company, consider rescheduling.

Remembering to check your child's school calendar is another important step. If they have school on the day in question, you'll need to make arrangements with school administrators as pre-approval for a half day or full day may be required. You should also consider whether your child would do better with a half day or a full day at the office.

Design fun and enriching activities to make the day rewarding

Determine if your company has activities structured around Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. If so, coordinate with your HR department or event organizer to ensure that you don't miss anything. If there isn’t anything formal planned, then it's a good idea to develop your ideas about how to use the time. Today's kids spend a lot of time on their mobile devices and may be easily distracted, so it's important that your activities are engaging. You might even consider asking them to leave the smartphone behind.

You should also speak to your children about what interests them about your job and figure out ways you can incorporate these interests into your schedule. If you'd like, you can ask colleagues or friends to see what's worked best for them.

Give them a tour of the office and introduce them to colleagues

Children may be slightly nervous or intimidated upon entering a professional setting, so a short guided tour of your workspace is a good way to break the ice. Get them a nametag and have them sign in and follow all the usual safety protocols.

Your colleagues probably have some familiarity with your kids through the photos in your office and the stories you tell. Likewise, your children have probably heard your anecdotes about work. By making the rounds and facilitating introductions, you help create connections between people in your work and home lives.

If you're an executive or an employer, ask employees how you can improve the experience

If you're a C-suite executive who is interested in doing more to encourage child visits, speak with your employees about developing some company-wide projects to accommodate this practice.

Perhaps you can stage some group experiences, competitions or outings during Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. A simple "get to know you" lunch can be a good icebreaker. You could provide interactive trivia games or a volunteer event for both your employees and their kids that day. Check with your more employees to gauge their interest in giving a brief talk about the details of the job.

Even if you're not a parent, feel free to celebrate Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

Today, many businesses go outside the family to include children from local organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America or programs for at-risk youth. A glimpse into a modern workplace can be an inspiring — and vitally important — opportunity for these children, so it's a good idea to get everyone involved.

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